The FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final – Grand Prix Freestyle to Music presented by Havensafe Farm cast a spell in Omaha (USA) where the World Cup™ Finals are being held.
Conquering the crowd and the judges, who scored the combination a 90.482%, was Jessica von Bredow-Werndl of Germany. The 37-year-old rode 16-year-old TST Dalera BB, owned by Béatrice Buerchler-Keller, to a breathtaking performance earning the duo’s 23rd victory in a row.
Their accolades include the Olympic, European, and World Cup™ Championships. “From the beginning of the test I knew she was with me,” shared Bredow-Werndl. “She was excited, as she was in the Grand Prix but trusted me, and I felt that from the beginning. I’m so grateful to have been allowed to ride such an incredible mare for the past eight years. She is something very special to me and always gives her heart in the arena for me. I could not be more proud.”
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TST Dalera BB – Photo FEI / Richard Juilliart
Nanna Skodborg Merrald, last in the draw, posted the second-highest score of the evening, 87.146%, riding Blue Hors Zepter, a 15-year-old son of Blue Hors Zack, bred by Bernhard Sieverding. The 29-year-old Danish rider who has been riding him for the past four months came to Omaha with the team gold medal at the 2022 FEI Dressage European Championships with Zepter’s sire under her belt. “It’s my third show on him and I have the feeling I can ask for so much more – he is amazing and I know he has a lot of potential. Being second here between these two amazing riders is very special and I am very honored to be here in this amazing arena, great atmosphere, and super crowd.” The chestnut gelding was formerly ridden by Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Sweden’s Patrik Kittel.
Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Blue Hors Zepter – Photo FEI / Richard Juilliart
Six-time Olympian and five-time FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final Champion Isabell Werth of Germany closed her performance on 13-year-old DSP Quantaz, owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze and Victoria Max-Theurer, with an 85.761% closing the podium in third place. In her 24th FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final appearance, of which five won, the 53-year-old gave the crowd a taste of what high degree of difficulty looks like. “I’m very, very happy with Quantaz,” said Werth, who was the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final champion in 2017 on Weihegold OLD, the only other time the Finals have been held in Omaha. “He did a super job, and I think it was really his best freestyle so far. The music really inspires me, and I think it also inspired the crowd, and so it was just fun. I really have the feeling that Quantaz also enjoyed it, because he is really cool and in the rhythm.”
Isabell Werth and DSP Quantaz – Photo FEI / Richard Juilliart
USA’s Steffen Peters, series champion in Las Vegas (USA) back in 2009, and his Tokyo Olympic team silver medal ride, Suppenkasper, closed in fourth place with an 83.921%. Suppenkasper, aka “Mopsie,” was bred in the Netherlands by Frans van der Poel and is now owned by Akiko Yamazaki and Four Winds Farm.
For complete results click here
The combined FEI World Cup™ Finals 2023 of Dressage, Jumping, and Vaulting — which run through April 8 — are taking place at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, NB.
By Simona Diale / International Horse Press
